


The Path Ahead

by Witchtomez



Series: Yoosung Week 2019 (SFW) [6]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Immediately before the party, Reconciliation, prompt: the first step
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-02-27 03:38:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18730939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchtomez/pseuds/Witchtomez
Summary: He faced the proverbial dragon and lived to see the next morning--Yoosung, with a bit of help, takes his first (almost) fearless step into the becoming the man he wants to be for the future he can finally imagine.





	The Path Ahead

     The night had passed dreamlessly, giving way to the soft sunlight filtered through the blinds of the hospital room.

      Stirring slowly awake, Yoosung attempted to blink his eyes a few times before he realized the bandages held his left eye shut.  As his mind crawled out of the fog of sedatives, a sort of cold prickling seeped at the edge of his memory and he couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling as feral aqua eyes glared down at him. His ears began to flood with laughter like broken glass, elevating his blood pressure higher and higher—

 

_“You cutie…I’m gonna bite you when I see you!”_

 

_“Where are you right now?”_

 

_“Yoosung…I love you!”_

 

“Oh! The party!”

 

     He shot up in the hospital gurney, regretting it almost instantly as his head began to swim nauseously.

“Yoosung, hold on! Nurse, can we get his next round of medication?”

“Mnn…V-hyung…?”

     As the room slowed down from spinning to just wiggling in place like gelatin, Yoosung carefully pushed his head up to find the older man bending next to him as a nurse shuffled by with a tray of syringes.

“No sleepy ones!” he pleaded, closing his eye to prevent anymore fast stimulation.  
  
     The nurse hesitated, glancing at the patient before looking to V; he stood back up after checking the bandages around Yoosung’s head, contemplating the options.

“Just the pain relievers for now, if you could please?” he asked, turning back to find Yoosung pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe something for dizziness if you have it…?”

     The nurse inserted the syringes, pressing the plunger slowly into a fresh IV drip; chuckling softly, she set the last vial aside and checked on Yoosung’s vitals before giving him a kind smile.

“The dizziness might be left over from yesterday’s anesthesia, but I’ll come back around in about an hour to see how you’re doing and we can give you something else if it’s necessary, ok?”

     Yoosung thanked her, smiling in relief until she excused herself from the room. V felt around until his hands found a chair to pull to the bed, seating himself closer to the patient as if to avoid raising his voice more than necessary.

“Yoosung, how are you feeling?” he asked quietly, full of caution. The blonde huffed, still trying to clear his messy head.

“I think I’m ok…just stings a little but—wait, what time is it?”

     Sensing the alarm in his voice, V squeezed his shoulder to soothe him.

“It’s just a bit after eight in the morning, so calm down—“

“I need to get my clothes ready—!”

     V laughed quietly under his breath, thoroughly amused at his priorities immediately upon waking from emergency surgery. Still…he understood the urgency; he rose to his feet and pulled out the hanger displaying Yoosung’s RFA party attire from the closet standing opposite from the bed station.

“I couldn’t seem to find a clean set of socks…so if it’s no trouble to you, I just loaned you a pair of spare trouser socks I had on hand.”

     Sinking back to the pillows with a sigh, Yoosung nearly teared up in relief.

“V-hyung…thanks.”  The words sounded strange on his tongue after so long, but he meant them sincerely.

“Of course, Yoosung, I’m happy to help,” V inclined his head, strands of teal falling over his glasses.

     A moment passed silently as Yoosung continued to take controlled breaths, letting the IV do its job and perk his energy back up. Flexing his clammy hand, he tried to lay a section of blanket over it until V tucked it around his fingers the rest of the way.

     Very carefully, Yoosung slowly turned his head to see him better.

“I’m…actually a little surprised you’re not trying to make me stay in bed.”

     Raising his eyebrows behind the large sunglasses, a smile tugged at his mouth as he nodded in agreement.

“I’m a little surprised myself actually, but…I think if you decide you can manage it, I can’t do anything less than take you as far as you can handle.”

     Comfortable warmth settled into his stomach, and he bit down a grateful smile, willing his brain to send appropriate words but finding none. Despite having even less vision than Yoosung did presently, the elder seemed to pick up on his dilemma and graciously filled the gap.

“You faced great danger in spite of your fears to protect the person most precious to you…you’ve grown into an admirable man, Yoosung—it wouldn’t be right to stand in your way, not after you’ve come this far.”

    There was another quiet pause as the men let the words breathe and settle.

“I…Thank you, V-hyung. That really does mean a lot…”

     A curious energy began to flutter within his stomach as a new, lighter dilemma hummed behind his lips. In less than four hours, Yoosung would finally meet the woman who saved him  _and_  his future. The mere thought caused the heart monitor to chirp a little faster.

“Yoosung…? Ah, you’re thinking about her then,” V tilted his head toward the monitor, laughing as the younger man fidgeted with the sheets with giddy anxiety.

“I…god, she’s going to be beautiful…I really need these medications to kick in so I can clean up properly! The bandages are going to be a bit difficult to style my hair around, so I need all the time I can get but I also want to make sure I’m not so dizzy—I can’t risk throwing up on her at any cos—V, it’s not funny!  What if she breaks up with me before we even become boyfriend and girlfriend officially? Hyung!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

     After an hour of mirthful reassurance and gentle coaching, the dizziness finally faded and allowed Yoosung to stay on his feet without too much assistance from the photographer, who then moved to help him into his clothes without too much bending in case of relapse.

“Now this excursion will just be a temporary leave; you do understand that we will have to return within an hour or two, right?”

      Combing the bright fringe back into place, Yoosung stood back from the mirror, clenching his fist energetically.

“That’s more than enough time, as long as I get to see her!” he exclaimed, confidence straightening his spine. V couldn’t help grinning; the positive energy was infectious and he found himself a bit envious of the youth’s determined vigor.

      Calling a taxi, V held the door open as Yoosung gave himself a final once-over and took a deep calming breath.

      A mere week ago, he had felt like an entirely different person; helpless, aimless, full of grief and despair with only a cheerful façade to live up to just to get through the day before he immersed himself into a fantasy world where he didn’t have to be any of those things night after night.

     Then  _she_  stumbled into his life, bringing a cathartic sort of chaos that miraculously allowed him to escape the framework of this miserable routine. It wasn’t as though his heart didn’t still ache at the thought of what was lost to him and how he would never be able to introduce the woman he loved to the person who gave him the greatest influence—and there were still some questions he still and would never have answers for.

     But he finally had a way forward, and a future he wanted to obtain with the most precious person by his side. Yoosung had always joked about being bright and cheerful to keep up everyone’s mood, and now he wanted to live bright enough for any watchful eyes in the heavens to spot them from the earth below.

     This time, he knew he could do it. All he needed was to take her hand for it to finally feel real and then to make her never want to let go—this was the kind of man he was going to be.

“Ready, Yoosung?”

     He opened his eye, taking comfort in the way his heart pounded behind his ribs and the vibrant tingle that surged through his veins— _it was finally time_.

     The first step toward the unknown was normally reserved with caution, hesitant and uncertain like an infant learning how to trust their feet to carry them.

 

     For Yoosung, it now took all his willpower to keep from running to get started.


End file.
